giessmann



(No Model.)

No. 468,455.v

I 3 Sheets-Sheet M. C. J. G. GIBSSMANN.

INPLATABLB WALL TENT.

Patented Feb. 9,-1892.

l I l l l l I I I l (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. C. J. G. GIBSSMANN.

INFLATABLE WALL TENT. No. 468,455. Patented Feb. 9, 1892.

Y *my 3. t e e h .S e e h. S 3 Np T MN Un MT SL SM E .I W GB .L B GA .T TUA -n CN II M (No Model.)

Pateted Feb. 9

EN I ll Q n m .QQ m w Q.

Mwa

l, ml,-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAX CARL JOHANN eotrrLiE eIEssMANrL OE LONDON, ENGLAND.

INFLATABLE WALL-TENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,455, dated February 9, 1892i. AppucannneaAprns,1891. stanno. 388,175. monaca.)

To all whom it may con/cern,.-

Bo it known that I, MAX CARL JOHANN GOTTLIEB GIEssMANN, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Londen, in the county'of London, England, have invented a certain new or improved inflatable and collapsible cellular wall, shell, or covering applicable to the construction of portable tents, huts, marquees, boats, and other hollow objects, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a new or improved wall, shell, or covering composed of inflatable and collapsible cells or chambers applicable to the construction of portable tents, huts, marquees, boats, and other hollow objects.

The chief object of my invention'is to so construct tents, boats, trunks, and other simi,- lar objects which are formed of textile fabrics that they can be readily folded, rolled, or packed for transport, so as to occupy a very small space, while on arriving at their destination they can be unpacked, unrolled, or unfolded and then rapidly inflated with air entirely or in sections, whereby these objects can be used in their different capacity in the same manner as if they were built up-z'. e., made of solid material, such as wood, iron, or the like-such inflation being eected by means of an air-pump of small dimensions.

My invention is i particularly applicable and especially valuable for explorers and their escort traveling in the unknown and dusky regions of Africa or in other parts, who will now be able to carry in a small bulk all the appliances or implements required to protect .them from climatic intempers, and in the case of trunks and the like to carry their food and provisions, which as they are being consumed will unburden some of the trunks, which can be immediately rolled and packed away, so as to occupya considerably reduced volume. A similar advantage is obtained in the case of boat-s, which can be inflated and used to cross a river, then collapsed, folded, and placed in Wagons or on camels backs, so that a small fleet can be at any time improvised, and yet be carried wholly in a small wagon or on a sinb e camels, mules, or horses back.

In carrying my invention into practice I til the two outer sheets come in contact. A

suitable number of cells or chambers form a section, the'dierent sections in whlch the object is divided being inflated separately to prevent, in the event of one of the sections being torn open, hence collapsed, the other sections from being aected thereby.. The partition forming the boundary of two sections is made solid instead of being perforated like the other. y

According to a modification of my invention I provide collapsible tubes or pipes arranged in such a manner that when inflated they form vertical supports connected by an upper and a lower tubular ring surmounted by a tubular frame for the roof, the whole constituting the frame-work ofthe object required, such frame-work being covered inwardly or outwardly, or both, by sheets of canvas, india-rubber cloth, or other suitable material suspended from the upper tubular ring or fixed to the said tubes or pipes, the latter being provided with taps which, when closed and after the frame-work has been inilated, divide the latter into sections, so that if one of the pipes were torn open the remainder of the frame-work would not collapse; and in order that my invention may be more fully understood I have shown the same in the accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings.

Referring to Sheet 1, Figure l illustrates in elevation, partly in section, the application of my invention to one form of tent or hut. Figs. 2 and 3 -are respectively an elevation partly in section and a horizontal half-section illustrating the application to another form of tent or hut. Figs. 4 and 5 show my arrangement of cells or chambers in an inflated and collapsed state, respectively. Fig.. 5fL shows one of the perforated partitions. Figs'. 6, 7, and 8 show, respectively, a side view,.a sectional plan, and a cross-section of a boat constructed according to my invention. Rc-

IOO

; other material divided by the partitions a a a2' into cells or chambers c-c' c?, &c., which are perforated, as shown in' Fig. 5*, the whole forming a cellular wall. These partitions may be also formed with gauze. This' cellue lar wall is used to form' tents such as shown Ain Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 1 the cellular wall is fixed at the top to a pole P and' also the shape shown. Suitable" ropes or' cords e e', &c.,are xcd at one end to the said pole and at the other to staples, hooks, or pegs forced -in the ground. 'lhe cellular wall W, the series of. cells o f which are arranged horizontally, is divided in' sections at 12 3, dac., each section being provided with a tap t, which is connected to the india-rubber pipe p of the air-pump C, thirondary partition of each section being so 1 Figs. 2 and 3 show the application of Ymy in vention to another tent provided with openings O o o, the former forming a doorway and the other ,two windows, t t' being, as above,

taps which are cennect'edr'rturn tothe rubber tube p of the air-pump C in order to successively inflate the various sections. In this application the cells of the wall W are arranged in a'vertical direction. 1 2 3, the., indicate the dilerent'sections or impermeable joints formed of solid partitions.

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show the application oftheinvention to a boat, the sides of which' are formed of-a cellular wall W,- formed oa single row of cells or chambers. The seats S are formed .in the same manner. Y 1 2 3 are f k is a keel made of ,a solid or hollow piece of india-rubber or other substance.

Figs. 9 and 10, Sheet 2, show a modification of my invention, according to which I use a number oogcollapsiblepipes or tubes-a a, &c., a.' a.2 a? a, dac., a4, arranged and connected together so as'to form the frame-work of the tent, which is covered subsequently by canvas or other material. a a &c., are vertical tubes connected at the bottom with another tube a', curved in the form of a ring and at the top with a ring a.z similarly formed. The tubes na. a.s bc.,'represent' the rafters and are connected to the ring a.z andthe small ring a.4 at 6 the top. C' is the covering material torn olf, as' shown, to illustrate the tubular framework and ,ixed by hooks h h 'h,i&c., to the rings a,' a?, and a. The tubes are welded or cemented together Ywherever they meet. t t', 6 5 dac., are taps txedfat the junction of the verl tical Iand inclined tnbesat the Vupper and lower rings a' a?.

Instead' of forming in the applications above described `a number of cells` into sections, I may allow all the cells to communi-` cate, so that the object formed therewith may Vbe inflated atonce. I may connect the taps of several sections to a commonfeeding-pi-pe.

Having thus particularly described my in vention, what'I claiml as new, and desirel to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. Acellnlartent the cellular wall-of which has a tapfforeaclr esect-ionrsubstantially as the sectional joints.

described. y Y 2. Acellular tent 'the cellularwall of which -has a tap for each section and a Yflexible pipe connected to each tap','f"substantially as de- IAX CARL J0lIA'NN G'l'lLlEB GIESSMANN.

, j Witnesses:

' m J. En,

' FRANK HUGHES,

76 Chancery Lane, London, 1V. 0., 

